Sky Rolls out 'Buy & Keep' Movie Service to Non-Subscribers in U.K., Ireland

The popular service offers current and catalog films for download or streaming along with a DVD.

European pay TV giant Sky said on Wednesday that it has started making its Sky Store's Buy & Keep movie service available to everyone, even people who don't subscribe to its pay TV services, in the U.K. and Ireland.

People can buy latest blockbusters via Skystore.com and a new Sky Store app for streaming or download. The Buy & Keep service also sends users a DVD of movies they buy by mail. The service is part of Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch's focus on offering new services and reaching consumers in various ways.

Non-Sky TV customers in the U.K. can watch the films on their computers or mobile devices. On their TV set, they can do so via Sky's Now TV box or a Roku or YouView box. In Ireland, they can watch via a Roku box.

"People want the simplest and most convenient way to buy and watch the movies they love, which is why it’s great news that from today Buy & Keep will be available to everyone and across multiple devices," said Nicola Bamford, director of Sky Store.

Sky highlighted such current titles as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Paddington as being available along with such catalog titles as Avatar, Back to the Future and Wizard of Oz. New releases cost $20.60 (£13.99), while catalog titles are $11.75 (£7.99).

Most Buy & Keep movies are available in early release, meaning they are available on Sky Store before the DVD is available in stores. For existing Buy & Keep customers who have already used the service, all movies they have bought will automatically appear in the My Library section of the new app.

"Sky Store Buy & Keep has been a huge hit with Sky customers since its launch in April 2014, with Sky Store regularly being the number 1 digital retailer in the U.K. for new movie releases," Sky said. "In the future, the service will expand to include TV and movie box sets."